Objective-c, SpriteKit particles not removed after action finished - ios

Question

I'm making a game in Xcode, with SpriteKit and I've encountered a problem while working with particles.
Method of Initializing SKEmitterNode:
-(SKEmitterNode *)newExplosionEmitter {
NSString *explosionPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"explosionH" ofType:#"sks"];
SKEmitterNode *explosion = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithFile:explosionPath];
return explosion;
}
This method of my mine is the AI of CPU1, which is called in the update method.
-(void)CPU1AI {
SKSpriteNode *CPU1 = (SKSpriteNode *)[self childNodeWithName:CPU1CategoryName];
int aiX = CPU1.position.x;
int aiY = CPU1.position.y;
int ballX = self.ball.position.x;
int ballY = self.ball.position.y;
if ((aiY-ballY)<250 && !CPU1isDead) {
//CPU1 AI
}
if (CPU1isDead) {
float posY = CPU1.position.y;
float centerX = self.frame.size.width/2;
CGPoint goToPos = CGPointMake(centerX, posY);
SKAction *moveToPoint = [SKAction moveTo:goToPos duration:3];
SKAction *removeNode = [SKAction removeFromParent];
SKAction *CPUdead = [SKAction runBlock:^{CPU1isDead = NO;}];
SKAction *sequence = [SKAction sequence:#[moveToPoint, removeNode, CPUdead]];
explosion.position = CPU1.position;
explosion.zPosition = 10;
[CPU1 runAction:sequence];
if (![explosion hasActions]) {
explosion = [self newExplosionEmitter];
[self addChild:explosion];
[explosion runAction:[SKAction sequence:#[[SKAction fadeAlphaTo:0.5 duration:3.5],[SKAction removeFromParent]]]];
}
}
[explosion removeAllChildren];
}
After the SK runActions ended, I put "[explosion removeAllChildren]" just to make sure my particles will be removed, but with or without it, one is still left in the memory ( I guess ) and is still buffering.
Is it because I declared it as a static SKEmitterNode in my scene ?
Thanks in advance !

Answer 1

Add these methods to your SKScene subclass (code from Apple's website that I modified slightly)...
- (SKEmitterNode*) newExplosionNode: (CFTimeInterval) explosionDuration
{
SKEmitterNode *emitter = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithFile:[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"explosionH" ofType:#"sks"]];
// Explosions always place their particles into the scene.
emitter.targetNode = self;
// Stop spawning particles after enough have been spawned.
emitter.numParticlesToEmit = explosionDuration * emitter.particleBirthRate;
// Calculate a time value that allows all the spawned particles to die. After this, the emitter node can be removed.
CFTimeInterval totalTime = explosionDuration + emitter.particleLifetime+emitter.particleLifetimeRange/2;
[emitter runAction:[SKAction sequence:#[[SKAction fadeAlphaTo:0.5 duration:totalTime],
[SKAction removeFromParent]]]];
return emitter;
}
- (void)createExplosionAtPosition:(CGPoint)position
{
SKEmitterNode *explosion = [self newExplosionNode:3.5];
explosion.position = position;
explosion.zPosition = 10;
[self addChild:explosion];
}
Remove the following from your code...
explosion.position = CPU1.position;
explosion.zPosition = 10;
[CPU1 runAction:sequence];
if (![explosion hasActions]) {
explosion = [self newExplosionEmitter];
[self addChild:explosion];
[explosion runAction:[SKAction sequence:#[[SKAction fadeAlphaTo:0.5 duration:3.5],[SKAction removeFromParent]]]];
}
and replace it with this
[self createExplosionAtPosition:CPU1.position];
I suspect you want to set CPU1isDead = NO in the if statement, so the code isn't executed multiple times. You should also delete [explosion removeAllChildren].

Answer 2

Just to help somebody else looking for the same answer I tried this
the one above didn't work for me either - But put me on the right track.
-(void)addTimeBonusParticles
{
SKAction *remove = [SKAction performSelector:#selector(StopParticlesFlame) onTarget:self];
SKAction *wait = [SKAction waitForDuration: .5];
SKAction* blockAction = [SKAction runBlock:^
{
NSString *file = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"TimeBonusMagic" ofType:#"sks"];
stars = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithFile:file];
[self addChild:stars];
stars.zPosition = 5;
stars.position = CGPointMake(countDown.position.x, countDown.position.y);
}];
[self runAction:[SKAction sequence:#[blockAction,wait,remove]]];
}